


Debbie's family

by LuciaWillow123



Category: Emmerdale
Genre: Babysitting, Family, Fatherhood, Growing Up, Honesty, M/M, Step-parents, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-03
Updated: 2017-06-03
Packaged: 2018-11-08 08:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11077740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LuciaWillow123/pseuds/LuciaWillow123
Summary: As Aaron and Robert struggle to figure out how they feel about Rebecca's decision to raise her and Robert's child on her own, Charity's antics lead some unexpected guests to their door. Will a day of babysitting help the husbands make a major life decision?





	Debbie's family

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first ever fanfic. I came up with the idea during Thursday's episode when Charity ditched Debbie and the kids and I thought it might make for a good plot device to give Aaron and Robert a push towards a decision I think they will probably make anyway. It's definitely a robron fanfic but it's kind of a general Emmerdale fanfic too as you will find a lot of familiar faces making an appearance/getting a mention. I hope you like it.

Birds chirped in the distance as Aaron slowly became aware of the morning sun flooding into the room. Their new curtains were no match for the summer sunshine. Summer… when had that happened? As he opened his eyes, Aaron thought back on the last year. So much had happened in so little time, the horrors of prison were already fading to a distant memory. Where had he even been this time last year? Living with his mum, trying to convince Liv to trust Robert. That was ironic.

He turned over in the bed, sitting up slightly to look at his darling husband. He didn’t want to be bitter, he wanted to forgive him, he really did. But it wasn’t as easy as that. Robert was still fast asleep, lying there all wrapped up in the duvet, hair in a scruffy mess all over the pillow. He had been tossing and turning in the night, unsettled, just as he had every night since they found out Rebecca had decided to keep the baby. Or at least that was when Aaron had first noticed it. Robert might have said it was better to just let Rebecca raise the baby on her own but it was clearly still bothering him. And wasn’t that supposed to be their whole thing now? Talking about stuff.

That was the one good thing to have come out of this stupid cheating fiasco, they were finally dealing with their problems like mature adults. For the first time since he could remember Aaron had been hit with this awful news and he hadn’t kicked off, punching first and talking later, he hadn’t turned it on himself to relieve the pain in that temporary but oh so addictive way he knew so well, he hadn’t even jumped to conclusions and shut everyone out. He had stayed and listened to the full story, everything Robert had to say, he had gone to his councillor and he had made the decision that made sense in the long run instead of just choosing whatever would make him feel good in that moment.

And likewise, maybe for the first time in his life, Robert told the truth just because it was the right thing to do. He had known that it would probably mean the end for them but he had been prepared to tell Aaron the truth anyway because somehow – and he wasn’t sure when – Robert Sugden had finally learned to value honesty. So why was he lying to himself now? Some part of him wanted that baby and Aaron knew it.

“Are you staring at me again?” Robert asked, opening his eyes.

“No,” Aaron replied in the gruff way he always did when someone caught him being soppy. But then he checked himself, hadn’t he just been criticising Robert for not being honest? “Maybe a bit.”

Robert’s eyes twinkled as he smiled at the admission, sitting up in the bed. “Those curtains are doing absolutely nothing to keep the sun out,” he grumbled, having a quick stretch.

“Yeah, you’ll have to ask Vic if she’s got anything we can put up there for the time being and there’s still a load of unpacking to do. So we’d better get up before we waste the whole morning sitting here,” Aaron mused before giving Robert a pat on the leg to tell him to get a shift on and moving to get out of bed. It wasn’t a lie, they did have a lot to do and since they were back at work now they only had the weekends to do it, but Aaron couldn’t deny that his hurry that morning was a way of avoiding getting too intimate. He may have forgiven Robert but that didn’t mean he was ready to get all tangled up with him in that room.

“We don’t have to get up yet, though, do we?” Robert whined, reaching out to hold Aaron’s arm and stop him leaving the bed. Aaron couldn’t help but smile as he wriggled free.

“Yes, we do. I’m sick of climbing over boxes every time I want to go to the toilet. Come on. Get up!”

\---

Robert was crouched down by one of their new cabinets, carefully placing DVDs from a box onto their relevant shelves – his, Aaron’s and theirs. Liv’s stuff was in a different box. How convenient that she had happened to be out of the country when the time came to pack up her tip of a room. He chuckled to himself at the thought of Liv deliberately making it messier just to wind him up. He had been surprised at just how much he missed her at first. But it made sense. Liv was as much a part of Aaron as his ridiculous taste in movies was, so of course he loved her. It bothered him to think that with all the time she’d been spending with her mum, there was no guarantee Liv would want to come back to Emmerdale to live with them. And if it hurt him to think that then he couldn’t imagine how hard it would hit Aaron if it came to it.

You see, it wasn’t just that Liv was Aaron’s sister and they cared about each other - he had that with Vic – for Aaron, Liv was more than his sister, he was like a dad to her. It had been tricky at first, of course, and even in Mauritius they had had their ups and downs but when it really came down to it Aaron was kind of a natural with her. He’d meant what he said the other day about starting a family together one day – one day when things weren’t so ridiculously complicated.

As he stood up to go and fetch the next box, Robert found himself wondering what it was like to have an uncomplicated life. He certainly couldn’t ever remember things being straight-forward; between his mums, his dad, Andy, leaving the village, Chrissie, the affairs, Chas, Paddy, Katie! Some of the trouble he’d had in life was unavoidable, sure, but he hadn’t half created a whole load of bother for himself and everyone he ever cared about pretty much from day one. Aaron had had his share of complications too with his mum and dad, Jackson, Adam and, well, him, but virtually every bad thing in Aaron’s life had happened to him. He didn’t deserve any of it but Aaron’s complications always brought him misery and if Robert wanted one thing more than anything in this world it was for Aaron to finally be truly happy.

It might take a while to get to that future - no thanks to yours truly - but Robert could imagine that happy future looking a little something like the two of them properly lawfully married with a bunch of kids, aunty Liv upstairs and Vic, Diane and Chas down the road. Rebecca wasn’t in that version of the future and neither was her baby.

“What are you looking all glum for?” Robert looked up from the table where he was idly sorting through boxes to see Aaron leaning against the doorframe watching him with that familiar smirk on his face.

“Glum? Since when do you say glum?” he quipped back.

“Alright, why are you being such a moody git? Will that do you?” Aaron tried again, pulling a face. Robert paused, he hadn’t realised he had been.

“Just bored I suppose. Are you finished in the kitchen then?”

“Yeah, you might actually be able to cook something in their tonight instead of hassling Vic for her gravy as per.” Robert stopped for a minute to watch as his husband took a box from the middle of the room and started unpacking it. It was nice to see him in such a playful mood again. Things had been just that bit more distant between the two of them since he had finally plucked up the courage to tell the truth about that night with Rebecca. Maybe their happy future together wasn’t as far into the future as he had thought.  
“Are you going to unpack that then? Or do you just like watching me doing all the work?”

“Can’t say it doesn’t look good on you,” he shrugged. Flirting again already? Things really were getting back on track.

\---

“Please, Diane. Are you sure you can’t take them? My mum has gone and pulled yet another one of her stunts and I can’t exactly just leave her to get out of this one on her own,” Debbie fidgeted with her car keys impatiently, she was getting desperate.

“I’m sorry, love. You know I would if I could but Eric’s left me and Doug in the lurch again and it’s a really busy weekend at the B&B. What about Moira? Can she take them?” Diane wanted to help but she could barely stop juggling room keys to have this conversation right now.

“Moira’s got some big problem with cows, she’s got just about every Barton there is out there dealing with it. And besides, I wouldn’t want to ask her anyway, she’s really rushed off her feet at the moment with the farm. I would ask Faith but she’s got a doctor’s appointment and I don’t want to stress her out. I really don’t know who else to ask, Diane.” There was a pause. Diane stood up straight.

“Your dad maybe? It’s not ideal but he’s had them before hasn’t he? And he’s probably got Kyle anyway so it should be no bother.” All Diane wanted to do was pick up little Jack, who had let go of his mother’s hand and started running circles round her but she knew that would be tantamount to agreeing to look after him and his sister for the day so she resisted.

“Exactly, he has got Kyle. In Leeds. There on some stupid day trip that I can’t say is stupid because my dad’s actually kind of doing the good dad thing for once and I’m not his only kid any more.” Diane sighed, this really was a bit of a pickle.

“Well, on your side of the family that only leaves Lisa...”

“Who is with Zak and Belle buying a van somewhere in the Lake District.”

“Sam? No. I know Vic’s working today as well. Unless…” Diane gasped as she realised the solution, “you should ask Robert and Aaron! Robert’s had his niece and nephew before, granted it was when he was with Chrissie but they know him at least and Aaron’s great with his Liv, she was an absolute tearaway when she first moved into the pub with us but she’s a pretty decent young lady now by all accounts.” A pretty decent young lady who had been excluded from school, sure, but Gabby had assured her there were circumstances and desperate times called for desperate measures. Debbie did not look convinced. She looked down at the young boy sitting at his grandmother’s feet and scooped him up into her arms.

“Aaron and Robert? Really? Liv and Sarah are one thing but Jack’s only little, Diane. Oh God, am I actually considering leaving them with my uncle Sam?” Diane gave her a sympathetic shrug.

“I wish you all the best, love, I really do, but I’ve got to get back to work, Doug’s hopeless with room service and I’ve got to go over this file.” Debbie nodded, inhaling sharply and preparing to go.

“Alright, well thanks anyway, Diane.” She marched out of the B&B, shouting out to her daughter, who was leaning on the car outside, playing on her phone. “I thought I told you to stay in the car… It doesn’t matter now anyway. We’re going up the street. You remember your uncle Robert, right?”

Sarah wasn’t sure what she was more shocked by, the fact that her mum was about to leave her and Jack with Robert or the fact that she hadn’t kicked off about her getting out of the car and exposing herself to potentially disease-ridden fresh air. Granny Charity had clearly messed up big time.

\---

They were down to the last two boxes. Aaron still couldn’t believe that they had so much stuff – where had they been keeping it all? But at last the end was drawing near.  
“What’s even in these ones? Everything’s already been put away, hasn’t it?” Robert grumbled, clearly not used to quite so much hard work.

“I don’t know, Robert. Why don’t you open them and find out?” Aaron rolled his eyes, the natural counterpart to his own personal brand of sarcasm. For once Robert decided not to argue the toss, instead leaning down to open the boxes, taking out one of the flowery bound books inside and opening it, a confused frown on his face. Intrigued, Aaron walked over to his side. “What are they?” Inside the book were rows of old printed photographs, slightly dusty from being in storage for so long but each with a short description written in messy handwriting on the back. Aaron read one aloud. “Baby Robert with Mummy and Daddy… oh, that’s why I recognised him, it’s your dad…” Aaron trailed off, remembering that Jack was a bit of a touchy subject for Robert. But Robert just looked up at Aaron, puzzled.

“When did you meet my dad?”

“Well, I never, not really. But I did used to live with Diane, remember so I’ve seen pictures – he was a lot older in those ones though.”

“Is that another joke about my age?” Robert teased. Aaron just bent down to pick up the next album, this one had some sort of frayed lace on the outside. Very 80s. Aaron turned up his nose before raising an eyebrow at his husband.

“Are you really going to try and argue that you’re not ancient when I’ve just seen what you wore as a baby? Anyway, what else have you got in here? Oh my God, is that Vic?” Aaron pointed to a little girl wearing a white polo shirt sitting next to a very young Andy in a tie. “Since when was Vic ginger?” Robert snorted with laughter at Aaron’s surprise.

“She looks sweet! That is my darling little sister you’re talking about,” Robert laughed, giving Aaron a warning look. As he flicked through the photographs, it became abundantly clear just how close Robert and Vic had been. There was barely a picture to be found where they weren’t hugging. Aaron couldn’t help but think how well that look suited Robert, a strange mixture of pride, protectiveness and pure love.

Meanwhile as Robert flicked through this stop-motion montage of his childhood, what leapt out at him was the obvious rift between him and Andy. Sure, they’d made up in the end but Robert couldn’t help but feel guilty about how little he had thought about his brother since Lachlan’s trial. He knew that he had made the right choice at the time to protect him by not knowing where he was but of the two of them Andy was always the one that Emmerdale mattered the most to. Robert had had dreams elsewhere but Andy belonged here on the farm with his kids, Vic and Diane. What had Robert ever done to deserve the family life that Andy was missing out on all this time, not knowing that it was safe to come home?

Aaron looked over at Robert, he’d been staring at this one picture of himself, Vic and Andy for a while now.

“Are you alright?” he tried. Robert looked up at him with a start as if he had forgotten Aaron was there.

“Huh? Oh! Yeah, no, I’m fine. Just thinking about how hopeless I am when it comes to family.” Seeing Aaron frown, Robert moved on quickly to avoid having to talk about his innermost thoughts and worries. “Why don’t we leave these for later? I don’t know about you but I could really do with a pint – and it’ll give us a chance to ask Vic about those curtains.” Without waiting for an answer, Robert went to fetch his wallet as Aaron’s eyes followed him out of the room.

\---

“OK, Jack, are you going to be a good boy for your uncle Aaron and your uncle Robert?” Debbie asked in the voice of a mother desperately trying to convince their child of something they know isn’t going to happen.

“Who’s that?” Jack asked, looking up at his mother as she marched him down the street, his sister hurrying along behind them.

“You know, Chas’ son and Daddy’s brother. Remember they got married a few months ago?” Jack’s face was blank. Debbie sighed. “They work with Adam? Taking cars apart?” Still nothing.

As they turned into the driveway at The Mill, Sarah swung past them, chiming in, “Uncle Robert’s the one who hated dad when they were kids and Uncle Aaron’s the one that makes Aunty Chas look like she’s going to cry when she says how much you remind her of her little boy.”

“Ohhh, OK!” smiled Jack, suddenly knowing exactly who they were talking about. Just then, as he stepped up to the door and Debbie went to ring the doorbell, the door swung open and Robert bounded through with Aaron behind him, stopping suddenly as he narrowly avoided stepping straight onto Debbie’s foot.

“Errr… hello? Can we help you?” asked Robert as Debbie gathered herself after the near collision. Aaron stepped forward to join him in the doorway, raising his eyebrows in surprise.

Debbie cleared her throat, “Yeah, I’m afraid you’re going to have to because I have to go and deal with my mum’s latest shenanigans and since my usual babysitters are all busy or out of town, your step-mum,” she nodded towards Robert, “has finally joined your mum,” and then at Aaron, “on team ‘Aaron and Robert can look after the kids’, so I guess you’ll have to do.” The two men’s raised eyebrows suddenly dropped into matching frowns as they realised why there were suddenly two children on their doorstep.

\---

“Look, I know it’s not ideal but you know what my mum’s like, you did live with her for a while. I have completely exhausted my other options and you are their uncles – and their… cousins once removed or something – so it does kind of make sense.” Since telling didn’t seem to have worked Debbie was now trying the lesser-known persuasion technique of asking. Robert was already shaking his head, trying desperately to think of anyone else he could palm the kids off on but Aaron got in before him.

“We’ll do it. Just try not to be gone too long, eh?” Debbie visibly relaxed.

“Great! I’ll be back as soon as I can. Thank you, Aaron.” She looked around her quickly, placing her hand on Sarah’s head, which startled and clearly annoyed the young girl. “Don’t let this one play outside or expose herself to anything with mould on it…” she let go of Sarah’s head, giving her a push towards her uncle Robert and placing the other hand on Jack’s little head, “as for this one, if you let him break your house or anything in it that’s your problem, just don’t let him break himself.” The younger child was nudged towards his uncle Aaron as Debbie waved them a quick goodbye before legging it to catch up to Charity – and, if she was completely honest, to stop her cousin from changing his mind.  
“Right, who wants to see what’s on telly?” said Aaron as he turned Jack around. As Jack ran and Sarah wandered into the house to find the front room, Aaron closed the door and look up to see Robert still standing there, staring at him questioningly.

“What?”

“Why did you say yes? We were going to the pub, remember?” Robert wasn’t angry, just confused. It was like Aaron couldn’t wait to have a house full of kids. What was he playing at?

“Debbie’s family.” Aaron shrugged and walked off after the kids, only for Robert to walk in front of him, barring his way. He gave him a pointed look.

“Do go on,” Robert gestured to indicate that the two-word explanation Aaron had given was insufficient.

“And she needs a favour. Her and Cain have helped me out loads of times and besides the fact that I owe her one, we also kind of owe Andy quite a few. And it’s not like it’s a really hard favour to give, we get to hang out with our little niece and nephew. I can’t remember the last time I got to do that.”

Robert shrugged his defeat, he did like Sarah and Jack and it had been a while. Then they heard a noise that could only be described as a cry-scream. The two men sprinted into the living room to see Jack lying on the floor next to the coffee table, clutching his head in pain. Robert ran over to scoop him up onto his lap as he sat on the sofa to assess the damage while Aaron headed to the kitchen for a bag of frozen peas. The two of them were like a well-oiled machine. Somehow, they just knew exactly what to do.

As Aaron skidded into the kitchen he saw where the other Sugden child has disappeared to, Sarah was raiding the cupboards, completely unfazed by the screaming.

“What are you doing in here?” Aaron asked as he searched through the shelves of the freezer for some peas – why didn’t they have any peas? Sarah just climbed down from the chair she was standing on at a leisurely pace, took a tea towel from a hook and ran it under the cold tap.

“Looking for a snack. You know you really need to go shopping. Don’t worry about Jack, it happens about three times a day, just put this on his head and give him a hug and he’ll be running around in circles again by tea time,” Sarah’s nonchalance reassured Aaron somewhat and he took the towel from her hand, closing the freezer door. When he re-entered the living room what he saw filled him with joy.

Jack was sitting on Robert’s knee, quietly sobbing into his chest as he hugged him, bouncing him slightly as he spoke softly into the top of his head.

“It’s OK, Jack. You just had a little bump on the head. It’s going to be alright. Don’t cry, son, don’t cry. It’ll be better soon.” Aaron’s heart swelled with pride as he saw the ease with which Robert wiped Jack’s tears as he held the cold towel to his sore head.

\---

It had been a long day at the farm and Adam was exhausted. He had almost forgotten just how physically draining farm labour could be, even his current profession hauling scrap around all day was a breeze compared to the toil his mum went through every day. He would have to remember to help her out more, she was keeping the farm afloat after all – a farm that he now lived on apparently. As the Bartons trudged back to the house a silence fell upon them, not because of any awkwardness between them – they had even managed to get along with Ross alright today without too much trouble -, but just because they were too flat out exhausted from herding cattle about all day to say anything.

As they approached the door he found himself hoping that Debbie or Faith had cooked them some sort of feast for tea; at this point they were basically just five grumbling stomachs walking in through the door. But when Moira reached that door it was locked.

“Is Faith still not back from her appointment?” Moira frowned as she unlocked it.

“Faith? What about Debbie and the kids?” Adam questioned as Pete and Ross began to scour the house for any signs of its other residents and Finn collapsed onto one of the dining room chairs.

“Debbie’s out fixing Charity’s latest screw up. I got a text from her a few hours ago saying she’d left the kids with Aaron and Robert but I would have thought Faith would be back by now and she’d have collected them,” Moira seemed concerned as she scrolled through the contacts in her phone to find Faith’s name.

“Well, maybe that’s where she is now. Picking them up,” Adam didn’t want his mum to worry but even he had to admit most appointments didn’t last a few hours. She didn’t look convinced either, she tapped her fingers against one of the counters as she waited with the phone to her ear.

“Faith? Faith, where are you?”

\---

“What’s this one of, Jack?” Robert asked, holding up a drawing of what looked to be a carrot wearing flip flops.

“Our car,” replied Jack.

“Oh, your car, of course! I didn’t recognise it because my car is a different colour. That’s a really good picture of a car, Jack, isn’t it, Aaron?” Robert smiled, slightly bemused, showing his husband the picture as Jack reached over for a different coloured pen.

“I think that’s one of your best ones, Jack. You’re good at cars, this one’s got wheels and everything,” the last part was said with a secret smile at Sarah, who chuckled slightly as she coloured in Aaron’s hair on her own drawing.

“My mummy works with cars,” announced Jack with pride.

“We know. Aaron used to work for your mummy and your grandad before he started his own business with your uncle Adam.” Jack’s face lit up.

“Really? You worked for Grumpy?” Aaron laughed, he had forgotten that that was what they called Cain, it was the perfect nickname.

“Yeah, I did. He’s my uncle so he kept letting me come back every time he fired me...”

“How did you two meet?” Sarah interrupted. That was a bit of a curveball. Aaron opened his mouth to answer but then closed it again, not sure what to say. Fortunately, Robert was ready for that one.

“Aaron used to live with his mum and Diane at the pub, remember? So when I came back to Emmerdale and went round to see Diane, I met Aaron,” Robert said matter-of-factly. But Sarah was smarter than that.

“But you were with aunty Chrissie then, weren’t you?” Sarah didn’t stop her colouring in but she gave a fidgeting Aaron a sideways glance. Just as Aaron’s face began to burn, he was saved by the bell as his phone rang.

He couldn’t wait to get out of that conversation so he immediately hurried to the kitchen, mumbling “I’ve got to get this.”

“Aaron, have you got Debbie’s kids?” said Adam’s voice when Aaron pressed the call button.

“Hello Adam, nice to speak to you too.”

“Sorry, em hi. It’s just Faith was meant to come pick them up a while ago but apparently she’s been roped into this whole Charity nonsense as well.”

“We thought something like that might have happened. Yeah, we’ve got Jack and Sarah at ours.” As Aaron heard Adam relay the news to Moira, he took a quick peak into the front room, where Robert, Sarah and Jack were once again quietly drawing together. Apparently, Robert didn’t just reserve that look for Vic after all.

“You still there?” Adam asked, returning Aaron’s focus to the call.

“Yeah.”

“Well, do you want me or my mum to come and pick them up? You must have had them for ages.” Aaron thought about it for a moment but another glance at the three little kids at the table and he knew his answer.

“No, you’re alright. They seem to like spending time with their uncle Robert and I think we might even get Jack to draw windows on cars soon as well as wheels. Just tell Debbie to come and pick them up once Charity’s got her act together or get her to give us a ring. We were saying we might take them to the pub for their tea if she’s not back by then,” Aaron added.

“Man, that’s so weird,” Adam sighed.

“What?” Aaron asked, suddenly on the defensive.

“You. You and Robert with a bunch of kids all domesticated like. I just never thought I’d see the day.” Aaron relaxed.

“Yeah well, they’re good kids, aren’t they? I’ll talk to you later yeah?” Aaron barely listened to Adam’s goodbyes as he headed back into the front room, sliding his phone back into his pocket.

“So how many brothers does Daddy have?” Jack asked as Aaron sat down. Robert thought for a moment.

“Three, I guess. Although I’m pretty sure he’s never met one of them and he’s not seen the other one in years.” He paused, before pulling the lid off of another pen and grabbing a fresh sheet of paper. “Let’s see if I can draw a family tree.”

\---

“Marlon! What are you doing?! The stroganoff’s not for this order, it’s for the next one!” Vic had been rushed off her feet all day and she was seriously reaching the end of her tether. Between the heartbroken head chef, Carly and Matt swanning off together and Charity’s latest stupid idea, there wasn’t enough temporary bar staff in the whole of Yorkshire to keep her temper in check. As she juggled plates, trying to work out how to rejig the orders so that they at least vaguely resembled what the customers had asked for, she saw Marlon’s face quiver with the effort of holding back tears. She sighed, “Oh, I’m sorry, Marlon. I know everything’s still very raw for you with Carly leaving but I am going through a break up too – from my husband I might add – and I really need your support holding this together.”

Marlon nodded, taking a shuddering intake of breath. “Sorry. I know. It’s very unprofessional of me. I’m sorry.” As Marlon flustered and mopped at his face, trying to remember what he was supposed to be doing next, Victoria made an executive decision.

She marched out to the bar, announcing to the staff “Do not take any more food orders. We will finish everything that has already been ordered and then we are calling it a night. If Charity has a problem with it then she should stop trying to pull ridiculous stunts and actually show her face in her own pub every once in a while. Chas would kill her if she knew what this place had turned into on Charity’s watch.” With the rant over, Vic made to spin on her heel and march back into the kitchen, but before she managed it, she found herself face to face with her brother, holding little Jack in his arms. She recoiled in surprise.

“Are you sure you can’t stretch to just one more order?” Vic gave Robert her most exasperated glare as her shoulders dropped by about three inches.

\---

As Vic flitted about the pub like a mother hen delivering dishes to the customers, Robert followed her, the child in his arms proving a real hindrance to his usual charm.

“You are invited too, you know? We could make it a proper little Sugden family dinner. When was the last time you sat down with Jack and Sarah and just talked and ate?”

“Well I’m not going to be just talking and eating, am I, Robert? Because I’m working and the work doesn’t just stop when all the food is on the tables.” As she reached the bar again Robert tried to follow her into the kitchen but she was having none of it. “Errr where do you think you’re going? You don’t live here anymore so you can’t just wander back here whenever you feel like it.” With that said, Vic could finally do the turn on her heel she had been waiting for since her big announcement and Robert slumped his shoulders, carrying Jack back over to the side of the bar where Aaron and Sarah were waiting.

“Jack, if you ask your aunty Vic in a really sad, sweet voice if she will please have dinner with us, I’ll let you have pudding,” Robert tried.

“Do you not think he’s hyper enough?” laughed Aaron, overhearing.

“So I guess we’re not eating tonight then,” said Sarah glibly.

“Oh no, Sarah,” Robert said, putting Jack down as Aaron’s phone started to ring, “you seriously underestimate my powers of persuasion.”

“You’re on your own for a bit, Robert, don’t lose any kids,” Aaron teased as he moved away to answer the phone.

\---

“Vic, please, where else do you expect me to take them?” Robert was leaning across the bar now, holding Jack’s hand and not letting up on the begging front.

“Oh, I don’t know, Robert, how about you cook them something in your kitchen. At home!” Vic was not enjoying this, now not only was Robert asking her to do more work, he was also keeping her from the work she already had to do. If it wasn’t for her sweet little niece and nephew standing right next to him she would have been very tempted to repeat her old trick of throwing drinks at him. But just as she was seriously considering throttling him anyway, Aaron appeared beside him with Debbie and Charity in tow.

“I think I might have a solution. Charity here is going to cover for Vic and the six of us are going to sit down at that table over there and calm down over a nice family meal,” Aaron said, almost uncharacteristically eloquently, before jutting out his bottom lip in a way that said, ‘Please just go with it.’

“And my mum is going to pay for it,” Debbie added. Charity, Aaron and Robert all went to object but Debbie put one hand up to stop them, “to make up for all of the hassle she has caused me, Vic and the kids today.” Charity still wasn’t happy about the situation but she knew better than to try and argue, so as Vic went to get changed out back, the others made their way over to the table.

“What about Faith? Does she not want to join us?” Aaron asked as Debbie helped Jack into his chair.

“She’s too tired so she’s gone home to rest,” Debbie replied in a voice that did nothing to hide just how exhausted she was.

“Faith gets tired? Now that’s something I’d like to see,” quipped Robert, sharing a look with Sarah who was on the same wavelength. Debbie was taken aback by how easily her kids were interacting with their uncles. Robert was the last person she expected to be great with them.

“So how did it go today then? Were they any trouble for you?”

“Well, Jack did bang his head on the coffee table at one point but apart from that there were no tears,” Robert smiled. Aaron was quiet, it hadn’t escaped his notice that Robert had again volunteered the truth even though he knew that Jack injuring himself was the one thing Debbie had warned them about.

“Just once?” Debbie laughed, “he usually hits his head at least twice a day. What have you done with them all day?”

The chatter and laughter carried on as they were joined by Vic and for the first time this little group really felt like a family.

\---

As Aaron and Robert walked back up the road to The Mill, Robert couldn’t stop talking about how great the day had been.

“They’ve grown up so much since I last properly spent time with them. I’ve not really seen them at all since they got back from France. I’ll tell you what though, for a kid who still draws people with arms and legs coming straight out of their heads, Jack’s French is impressive, he was chatting away to you like nobody’s business,” Robert exclaimed, nudging Aaron.

“Yeah, but he was just saying random words most of the time though, so I wouldn’t go calling him a child genius just yet,” Aaron smiled fondly, “I think ‘la voiture’ is his favourite word though, which will make Cain and Debbie very happy.” Robert smiled.

“And Sarah is so bright, she would get the jokes that went over Vic’s head half the time. Nothing gets past her.” They were approaching the house now and a thought was starting to weigh on Aaron’s mind. He listened carefully to see if his suspicion was right. “I’m so glad you said yes to Debbie today. It’s been brilliant having kids in the house.” That was it, that was Aaron’s cue to say what had been bugging him all day.

“I think you should talk to Rebecca.”

Robert stopped in his tracks. He turned to his husband, a panicked look on his face. “What?”

“I think you should talk to Rebecca and ask her to let you be her kid’s dad.”

\---

They had made their way into the house in virtual silence and now Robert was sat on the sofa, waiting for Aaron to sit down across from him. His mind was so busy telling himself to calm down and figure out what he was going to say that he had no room in his head to actually figure out what he wanted to say. As Aaron sat down, Robert opened his mouth to speak only to close it again. He paused, brow furrowed.

“Why?” Aaron’s concerned look softened and he stopped twiddling his thumbs. He looked Robert straight in the eye.

“Because you were so happy today, surrounded by your family, playing with Jack and Sarah. You were good at it too. They had the best day because of you. Don’t you want to have that with your own kid?” That bothered Robert. His frown deepened and his voice was quiet.

“I want you. I want us to be together…”

“And you’ve got me. But that doesn’t mean you can’t have your kid as well. That kid could make you so happy and you could make it happy too.” This conversation was clearly stressing Robert out, he started shifting from side to side in his seat.

“But it won’t make you happy. You might say that you’re fine with it but come Christmas time there is going to be an actual baby and if I let that baby into our lives it’s going to be a permanent reminder of what I did. How I betrayed you… Why are you smiling?” Half way through the rambled speech Aaron’s face had lit up and if Robert wasn’t thrown off guard enough already, this was seriously messing with his head.

“You’ve thought about it.”

“What?”

“You said ‘come Christmas time’, you didn’t work that out just then. You’ve been thinking about the baby, when it’s due, what it’s going to look like… you want that baby, Robert.”  
Robert rubbed his face. “OK, maybe I do, maybe a part of me wants to know my child, to be a part of its life but that’s not the point. You are my priority and I don’t want to put you through that. Do you really want to put yourself in a situation where you see Rebecca every day, where you have living breathing evidence of how badly I let you down crawling around this house? I don’t think you’ll deal with that as well as you think,” Robert pleaded for reason.

“But don’t I get to decide that?” Aaron snapped back, getting up out of his chair and starting to pace around the room. “I mean think about it, I see living reminders of your let downs every day anyway. When I see Paddy, I don’t think about how you shot him, I think about how great it is to see him, how he makes me laugh. When I saw Jack and Sarah today, I didn’t think about how you took Katie away from them, made me cover it up, I thought about all the things you thought about, how bright, funny, sweet and playful they are. Little Leo doesn’t generate some massive rage in me anymore about how you threatened him to try to hold on to your perfect little life with Chrissie. He’s a little kid, full of joy and it makes me happy to see him because of that. I will love this baby because it is a part of you. How could I not?”

There was a beat of silence as Robert thought about what his husband had said. He had a point but it wasn’t as simple as that. Robert got up and walked over to where Aaron was standing, taking his hands in his.

“But it won’t just be a part of me. It will be a part of her as well. Like you said, she will always be around, she will always be in our lives.” Aaron sighed, he looked down at their hands, fitting together so perfectly.

“But is she really all that bad?” At Robert’s raised eyebrow he carried on, “No, I know. But seriously, think about it, it could have been Chrissie you were raising a baby with. Cheating, perpetually chasing you and trying to break little scroats out of prison aside, she’s actually alright. Sure, she doesn’t like you very much at the moment but that’s kind of understandable and, besides, I’d really rather she didn’t like you enough than she liked you too much. And she seems to think I’m alright. She’s basically a pretty decent person, who would probably put her kid’s needs before any personal vendettas against you. And even if she was awful, that wouldn’t make me like the kid any less. After all, I don’t think of Gordon every time I look at Liv, do I?” Robert released his hands.

“I suppose so. But even if we totally ignore the fact that this baby doesn’t just bring Rebecca with it, there’s Chrissie, Lawrence and Lachlan to think about too, when I think about starting a family together this just isn’t how it is supposed to work.” He sat down on the arm of the sofa and Aaron did the same, their knees touching. “No matter how hard we try to be in this together, this kid will always be my kid and not yours. You’ll have no connection to it.” 

Aaron squinted his eyes, staring at his husband, “Well not biologically, sure. But we were never going to have kids that were biologically yours and mine anyway. And how can you even think that that’s an issue after today?”

“Today?” Robert asked, fiddling with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Yes, Andy’s adopted, so there’s no biological link between you and him but you love those kids so much. You’ve spent the best part of your life more or less hating their father and I don’t exactly get the impression you and Debbie have ever been the best of friends but you absolutely adore Jack and Sarah because of who they are, not their parents.”

Robert let go of his sleeve, “Yeah, of course, but that’s different, that’s not a father-child relationship…”

“OK, so what about Paddy and Leo? Paddy and me?! Think about what you have with Liv, she’s always going to be my sister and not yours, it’s doesn’t stop the two of you from thinking the world of each other. Why can’t I have that with your baby?”

Robert was fast running out of reasons to say no. When had Aaron got so persuasive? Maybe he just knew him so well that it was impossible for him not to see what Robert couldn’t. Robert took a long look into his husband’s eyes, his frown slowly transforming into a nervous smile.

\---

“Lachlan can you get that please!” Chrissie shouted down the stairs as she finished applying her makeup for the day. There was no response. Chrissie sighed. She marched down the stairs shouting all the while. “Lachlan! Lachlan, where are you? Can you get the door please?” When, again, there was no reply, she thought aloud to herself, “Where has he got to now?” She just couldn’t seem to keep on top of his movements these days. He kept going back to that good-for-nothing Dingle girl. As the doorbell rang again she yelled once more, “Coming!”

Finally, she reached the door and opened it, only to immediately close it again when she saw who was waiting on the other side. Sadly not quickly enough though, as Aaron slid his foot between the door and the doorframe and Robert helpfully called out, “We just want to talk.”

As the door opened all the way again, Chrissie rolled her eyes, “Well go and talk somewhere else because I am getting pretty sick of the sight of the pair of you.”

“Well then tell me how to contact Rebecca and we’ll be out of here, we’ll even give you a wide berth for a while,” Robert tried, unable able to keep the arrogance out of his voice.

“I don’t think so!” Chrissie retorted, appalled at the very suggestion.

“Come on, Chrissie, be reasonable. Don’t you think it’s up to Rebecca whether she slams the door in his face or not?” Aaron added in a tone that was far harder to loathe.

“Well, I would say that leaving the country sends a pretty clear message that she doesn’t want to be contacted.” Chrissie was still adamant but her tone softened just the tiniest bit.

“So I was right, you do know where she is!” Robert declared, earning a swift kick from Aaron. Why was he always like this when Chrissie was around? Trying to one-up her like this was a game. The kick had a dual purpose though, not only did it shut Robert up, it also put a smile on Chrissie’s face and Aaron could work with that.

“Rebecca didn’t just leave to get away from Robert. She left because of your dad, she left because the stress of being outed as pregnant in a pub full of people including me and Robert put her in hospital, she left for a lot of reasons. There is a lot to think about if she’s going to have this baby and she needs the space to think about those things but she also needs to know what’s waiting for her here if she does choose to come back and just like she needs to hear that you’re going to be there for her from you and your dad’s going to be there from your dad, she needs to hear from us what we will do for that baby.” Chrissie bit the inside of her bottom lip, narrowing her eyes slightly as she processed what Aaron had said. They clearly weren’t going to leave any time soon so how many options did she really have?

\---

Aaron and Robert were sat side by side on the Home Farm sofa as Chrissie dominated the room, standing across from them.

“I’m sorry, Aaron, but I just don’t see why you think you should have any sort of say in this.”

“Well why should you?” Robert retorted.

“Because Rebecca isn’t here to speak for herself, that’s why.” Chrissie replied, her annoyance at having Robert in her home getting harder to hide.

“Well call her then,” Robert said, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head slightly, “I’m serious, if you have to speak on her behalf because she’s not here then give her a ring and hey ho! She’ll be here.” Chrissie grimaced, her lips pressed together as she gave a derisive snort.

“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” she smirked. Aaron gave Robert a warning look because he knew exactly what Robert wanted to say to that and it was not going to help make their case.

“You’re both right,” said Aaron, turning back to look plainly at Chrissie, “the only two people who really get to make any decisions are Rebecca and Robert, I only get as much of a say as Robert allows me and you only get a say if Rebecca wants you to have one, which I think she does. But that doesn’t mean that you can speak for her. She doesn’t know that we want to help her and it’s not up to you to decide whether she finds that information out or not.”

“Help her? Help her how? The only person Robert’s ever helped in his life is himself. When you found out about this baby you told her to have an abortion. What’s changed? No, seriously, Robert, why the sudden change of heart?” Chrissie challenged.

Robert was quick with his reply, she had barely asked the question before he was out of his seat. “What’s changed? I’ll tell you what’s changed, I just spent the day yesterday looking after my brother’s kids. They’ve spent the better part of the last year on their own with their mum abroad, isolated from their family, no contact with their father – thanks to you I might add. They’re back with their family now, of course, except for their dad, and even will all those people around her Debbie still had to leave her kids with me – a virtual stranger – yesterday because something came up. I do not want Rebecca to have to go through what Debbie did and I certainly don’t want my kid living that life. Do you? Would you do to your own sister what you did to Debbie by sending Andy away?”

The defiant look on Chrissie’s face disappeared. She gulped.

\---

“Are you going to call her then?” Aaron asked, leaning over the bonnet of a car at the yard.

“I don’t know,” Robert said, rubbing his hands together, “I thought I might write her a letter. It might stop me saying something stupid like I usually do.” Aaron considered it for a moment.

“Are you not worried she might not open it or she might move on to another address and never get it?” Robert widened his eyes.

“Well I am now!” Aaron carried on pulling at the piece of metal he had been working on, before stopping, dropping it and turning back to his husband.

“What if you gave her call or sent her a text or something to let her know to expect a letter? And you could keep a copy of it in case she destroys it or it gets lost and then she wants to read it after all.”

Robert nodded, remembering another letter, the one from Gordon that had caused such a row after he destroyed it. “Would you write her one as well?” Aaron tilted his head to the side.

“You want me to write Rebecca a letter? Why?” Robert had his full attention now.

“Well, there’s a few reasons. For one thing, I think she needs to know that you’re on board. But then there’s also the fact that I think she has a lot more respect for you than she does for me.”

“For obvious reasons,” Aaron was only mostly kidding.

“And, well, you might be a bit of a chavvy greasemonkey but you’re actually better at explaining things than me a lot of the time and I really want her to know why we want to do this, you know?”

“I know.” Aaron squeezed Robert’s arm reassuringly. He turned to the car again, getting back to work but one last thought struck him. “What do you think she’ll say?”

“I don’t know,” Robert said, almost in a whisper, “but it’s got to be worth a try, hasn’t it?”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, any feedback would be very much appreciated.
> 
> Also if anyone knows how to do italics on here it would be much appreciated as some emphasis was lost in the transfer to this site.


End file.
